Get buzzing for World Bee Day with Nectr

Happy World Bee Day 

Here at Nectr, we're focused on promoting sustainability and sharing initiatives that help our environment. That is why we are proud to raise awareness in Australia about World Bee Day on 20 May.

The purpose of giving our lovely bees a designated day is to bring awareness around their significance and how essential their role is as pollinators. Their survival is more important to our environment and to us than most people would think, today is all about putting bees at the center of conversation and encouraging actions that we can all take to make our home and surroundings more bee friendly.

Let us dive into the importance of bees and what we can do to help, not just for one day but as a continued effort.

Importance of bees

Bees are extremely critical to our very survival and Australian bees are dying at an alarming rate. Land clearing, high-density housing and small flowerless gardens are starving our bees of pollen and they’re sadly dying midflight. This is concerning, especially as bees are crucial to our everyday lives - they pollinate most of the food that we eat and what our livestock eat. Let’s think of it this way, one out of every three bites of food that we eat is thanks to bees pollinating and helping plants reproduce.

Food security. Bees pollinate most of the food that we eat and food that our livestock eat too. These foods include the likes of almonds, avocados, blueberries and apples. Without bees our food security would be at risk, with nearly two-thirds of Australia’s agricultural production benefiting from bee pollination. So, to ensure bee security, we are ensuring the security of our own food.

Biodiversity. Australia is home to about 2,000 different species of native bees. Some plants can only be pollinated by a particular species of bees, therefore, with the absence of their pollination, the plant can no longer reproduce should that bee species disappear. So, a bee's life is extremely essential in the reproduction of plants, flowers and even trees. Without bees, biodiversity is at risk and so are we.

Ecosystem health. Bees are pollinators, which means that they play a part in every form of the ecosystem. They do this by promoting the growth of flowers and trees, which are food and shelter for many creatures within our ecosystem. Not only is this for food and shelter, but it is also essential in helping to regulate climate, to purify the air and water and to recycle nutrients into the ecosystem.

Not only are they essential for our food security but they are also indicators as to the state the environment. Their presence explains what is happening in that specific environment and what action needs to be taken to ensure that flora and fauna can flourish with the help of bees. There are so many reasons why we must protect bees and ensure they can do what they do best - pollinate.

How you can celebrate World Bee Day 

Other than spreading awareness of bees, there are many other ways that we can all participate in World Bee Day:

• Plant flowers that are nectar bearing, not only will they spruce up your balcony and gardens, but they will also attract the bees.
• Purchase Australian made honey and hive products to support local farmers and beekeepers.
• Raise awareness among children on the importance of bees to educate them working together to keep bees thriving.
• Set up a ‘’bee hotel’’ on your balcony, courtyard or in your backyard. These can be either homemade or can be bought in some gardening stores or online.
• Mow your lawn in the evening when bees are no longer foraging to ensure their safety. If you wish to help further, let a patch of your grass grow long as long grass provides the perfect habitat for wild bee nests and allows for wild common flowers to grow - such as dandelions which are valuable foods for bees.
• If you must use pesticides, ensure that you choose ones that do not harm the bees and be sure to spray these either early in the morning or at night when bees are no longer foraging, just for their safety.

Moving forward:

Every small change can benefit our little pollinators and is a step further in ensuring they have habitats, can safely pollinate, reproduce and in turn will start to increase the population of bee species across Australia.

As well as taking action, World Bee Day is all about spreading awareness of the issues that we are facing and spreading the message of the importance of bees to as many people as possible. A first step is to share this blog with friends and family and help increase awareness and we can all take a step towards making a change together.

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